LAUSR

Abstract The Republic of Korea (ROK) has had a successful experience in greening its land because of strong state policy and public participation. This paper aims to analyze the interest positions, participation, and accountability of multiple actors in the process of greening movements in the ROK. These movements were divided into two phases: forest rehabilitation (1973–1997) and urban greening (1998–2017). During the first phase, farmers caused deforestation by slash-and-burn farming and illegal logging, and governmental agencies acted as helpers controlled the farmers’ deforestation activities. During the second phase, government agencies and enterprises caused deforestation with urban development projects, including construction of housings and roads. Multiple actors including citizens, NGOs, and enterprises helped urban greening through campaigns, donations, and monitoring. As a result, managing interest positions is significant to motivate multiple actors to participate in the greening movement. Participation with clear accountability is meaningful for successful greening. Therefore interest-based participation requiring accountability contributes to greening. This phenomenon indicates interconnection for interest positions, participation and accountability should be considered in designing greening policies.